Method of making roof structure



A. B. WILSON METHOD OF MAKING ROOF STRUCTURE Original Filed May 12, 1954 April 9, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TlOR. CZZZeW/B wzdson,

April 1963 A. B. WILSON 3,084,428

METHOD OF MAKING ROOF STRUCTURE Original Filed May 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent METHOD OF MAKING ROOF STRUCTURE Allen B. Wilson, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Acme Steel Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application May 13, 1955, Ser. No. 508,255, now Patent No. 2,969,754, dated Jan. 31, 1961, which is a division of application Ser. No. 429,237, May 12, 1954, now Patent No. 2,944,503, dated July 12, 1960. Divided and this application Apr. 11, 1960, Ser. No. 21,484

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-462) This invention relates to improvements in roof decks and methods of forming them and the present application is a division of an intermediate application, Serial No. 508,255, filed May 13, 1955, now Patent No. 2,969,754 which is, in turn, a division of an original application, Serial No. 429,237, filed May 12, 1954, now Patent No. 2,944,503, issued July 12, 1960.

In the building of a certain type of roof constructions, such as those employed in factories and other buildings, it is customary to provide a sheet metal roof deck, which rests upon the beams or other supporting structure of the roof, and which is covered with insulation, tar paper, asphalt, tar or other materials by which the outer covering of the roof is formed and the roof made weather tight. It is the usual practice to form the roof deck of sheet metal panels supported by sheet metal beams, thus providing a composite sheet metal structure which extends throughout the area of the roof. These sheet metal panels and beams are commonly secured together by means of specially formed fasteners which have added substantially to the cost of the roofing material and to the cost of the labor required to build the roof. Also, the use of these auxiliary fastening devices has not been satisfactory because of their tendency to become loose after use and because they sometimes require the punching of the panels and beams to form holes which do not always register properly when the roof deck is assembled.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved roof deck and an improved method of forming it, whereby the sheet metal beams and panels are secured together without the use of any auxiliary fastening devices. Another object of the invention is to provide an improved roof joint in which complementary parts of the roof are secured together by the integral portions thereof which have an interlocking engagement with each other. Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement, and to details of the method, which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment of the improved roof deck and one example of forming it are illustrated. In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a roof deck formed according to the present invention and illustrating the use of an improved crimping tool in the hands of a workman;

FIG. 2 shows an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the roof deck illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective View of a portion of the roof deck illustrated in FIG. 1 with parts thereof shown in vertical section;

FIGS shows an enlarged front elevation of one form of the improved crimping tool adapted for use in forming joints between the parts of the roof deck illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, inclusive;

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to the lower part of FIG. 6 illustrating the relative positions and conditions of the parts when the crimping tool shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is first put in place for use; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

In FIG. 1 of the drawings, an improved crimping tool 10 is shown in the hands of a workman on a roof deck 11 which, as further shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, is made up of a plurality of parallel beams 12 upon which are mounted a plurality of sheet metal roof panels 13. The beams 12 are formed of sheet metal and extend parallel to each other with their upper surfaces at the same level as the upper surfaces of the panels 13. Each beam comprises a top wall 12a having side walls 12b extending downwardly therefrom and flared outwardly from the top wall to a slight extent. Each side wall 12b is joined with a bottom wall 12c and each bottom wall is joined with a vertically extending outer wall 12d, each of which terminates at its top edge in an inwardly turned flange L2e which is inclined downwardly away from the plane of the uppermost edge of the connected outer wall.

Each sheet metal panel 13 is of corrugated form, being made up of parallel convolutions including top wall portions 13a which are of substantial width and which are joined by the intervening channel portions 13b each comprising downwardly converging walls '13c which are formed integrally with the bottom walls 13d. The panels 13 rest upon the upper edges of the outer walls 12d of the beams and the top surfaces of the panels 13a are in the same planes as the top surfaces of the adjacent walls 12a of the supporting beam-s.

According to the present invention, the beams 12 and panels 13 are connected by means which are formed integrally with these members including tongues. 132 which are formed at the ends of the bottom walls 13d of the channels 13b and which are curled or bent downwardly and laterally about the inclined flanges 122 of the beams, thus providing interlocking joints between the outer portions of each beam and the panels 13 which are supported thereon. The flanges 132 are formed by slitting the metal of the bottom walls 13d of the channels inwardly from their edges and bending these tongues downwardly and outwardly so that they underlie the flanges .12e and conform to the inclination of these flanges as shown in FIG. 3. In this way, the parts of the roof deck are securely connected together without the use of auxiliary fastening devices.

In FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings there is shown one form of a crimping tool 10 by which the tongues 13c are formed and curled about the flanges of the beams. This form of the crimping tool is claimed in said application Serial No. 429,237 and comprises a shearing and bending head 16 having a body portion 16a of cylindrical form and a downwardly projecting blade portion 16b which has parallel side faces 16c and two relatively inclined and downwardly converging end faces 16d and 162 which terminate in a sharp edge 116 At its upper end, the inclined surface 162 is connected by a shoulder 16g with another inclined surface 16h which extends up wardly to the lower end of the cylindrical portion 1611.

When this tool is put into use it is first placed in the position shown in FIG. 7 with the face 16d of the blade contacting the outer surface of a side wall 12b and with the surface 16c resting on the edge of the bottom wall 13d of the panel 13 which is then resting upon the upper edge of the adjacent outer wall 12d. In order to form the joint which has previously been described, the head 16 is then thrust downwardly with the result that the metal of the bottom wall 13d of the channel is sheared longitudinally to form a tongue which is at the same time bent downwardly and reversed about the edge of the flange 12e of the beam until it finally occupies the position shown in FIG. 6 where it is bent around the flange of the beam and lies in close contact therewith, thus holding the panel against relative movement in any direction with respect to the connected beam.

To facilitate the actuation of the head 16 in the formation of the interlocking joint between the beam and the panel, the cylindrical portion 16a of the head is provided at its upper end with a tubular bore 16 which is threadedly engaged by a plunger or piston rod 17. Relative rotation of the members 16 and 17 is prevented by a pin 18 which extends transversely through the threaded portions thereof.

The piston or plunger 17 has a loose sliding engagement with a block 19 having at its upper end an internally threaded recess 1 which is threadedly engaged by the lower extremity of a tube 20. The piston rod or plunger 17 is provided at its upper end with a piston 21 adapted to slide in the tube 20. When the piston rod and piston are in their upper positions the head 16 lies in proximity to the block 19 and the piston 21 lies in proximity to a plug 22 which is secured in the upper end of the tube 20 by transverse pins or rivets 23. The plug 22 extends upwardly beyond the tube 20 and provides with the tube 20 a handle for manipulating the tool. \A transverse bar 24 is secured in the upper end of the plug '22 for engagement by the hands of the operator.

In the use of this tool, the tube 20 and the plug 22 are reciprocated on the piston 21 and the piston rod 17 in order to impart blows to the upper end of the piston rod or plunger 17, thereby causing the head 16 to be forced downwardly and to perform the previously described shearing and bending operations on the edge of the bot- 41 tom wall of the channel in the roof panel. The tool may be operated in this manner by .a workman standing on the roof deck, as shown in 'FIG. 1, and the roof panels may thus be quickly and securely connected to the side portions of the supporting beams.

Although one example of the improved roof construction, together with one method of forming it, have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that all of these features of the present invention may be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

The method of forming 'a roof deck which comprises the steps of, laying corrugated sheet metal roof panels on the respective flanges of a roof beam having laterally inwardly projecting flanges along opposite sides thereof, the corrugations of said panels extending transversely of said flanges and the channel portions of said panels lying on said flanges, positioning an end of each said panel adjacent to and projecting laterally beyond the edge of the flange thereunder, slitting the edges of said panel ends in the bottom walls of said channel portions to form tongues, and progressively bending said tongues downwardly about the edges of said flanges thereunder during the formation of said tongues.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,430,807 Hoifman Oct. 3, 1922 2,666,253 Morberg Jan. 19, 1954 2,800,960 Cutler July 30, 1957 2,800,961 Cutler July 30, 1957 

